Former 90s action star and martial artist Steven Seagal found himself defenseless from opprobrium after he attended the inauguration ceremony of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was re-elected for a fifth presidential term.
The Above the Law actor, previously appointed as "a special representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry in charge of Russian and American Humanitarian ties," was filmed greeting attendees at the Kremlin in Moscow for Putin's inauguration on May 7.
Here is a clip circulating on X (formerly Twitter).
Seagal's attendance is hardly surprising since he is a devoted supporter of Putin and considers the autocratic leader a close acquaintance.
In November 2014, Seagal was granted Russian citizenship by Putin.
While Seagal expressed support for the annexation of Crimea by Russia, he described Putin as "one of the great living world leaders" and that he "would like to consider him as a brother".
The US, UK, Canada, and most EU nations boycotted Putin's swearing-in ceremony.
Seagal was joined by France and some other EU states that have reportedly sent envoys showing support for Putin.
Putin won the 2024 presidential election with 88.48% of the vote, which foreign leaders alleged was the result of an election that was neither free nor fair, amidst rising political tensions following Putin's launching of a full-scale war with Ukraine in 2022.
Here is a clip of Seagal defending the autocratic Russian leader against accusations of a fixed election.
Putin has held continuous political positions as president or prime minister since 1999.
He could extend his presidency to 2036, made possible by the 2020 constitutional referendum he signed into law that included an amendment allowing him to run for two more six-year presidential terms.
The widow of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in February at a Russian penal colony from a suspected assassination plot orchestrated by Putin, expressed grave concern.
Yulia Navalnaya said of Putin's rule:
"With each of his terms, everything only gets worse, and it's frightening to imagine what else will happen while Putin remains in power."
Meanwhile, Seagal continued getting slammed for his appearance at the Kremlin.
Seagal's last credited acting gig was in the 2019 action crime film Beyond the Law.
Since the early 1990s, he has faced multiple sexual assault allegations from Portia de Rossi, Katherine Heigl, and Jenny McCarthy.
